OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Jenna Lee
4:29 PM – Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has begun its weekend celebration of America’s 250th anniversary with official and ceremonial weigh-ins and a massive fan event in Washington, D.C.
On Saturday evening, the ceremonial weigh-in, a pre-fight promotional event in which combatants step on a scale in front of fans, will be hosted at The Ellipse, a park near the White House.
Earlier in the day, combatants had their official weigh-ins.
Fighting in the main event, the Lightweight Title Bout, undefeated lightweight champion Ilia Topuria of Georgia and American interim titleholder Justin Gaethje both weighed in at 155 pounds.
The co-main event is the Interim Heavyweight Title Bout, featuring Brazilian mixed martial artist and former kickboxer Alex Pereira, weighing 251 pounds, and French mixed martial artist and actor Ciryl Gane, weighing 248 pounds.
Both main events are scheduled for five rounds. The other bouts will each have three rounds.
In the Bantamweight Bout, American Sean O’Malley weighed 135.5 pounds and Canadian Aiemann Zahabi weighed 135 pounds.
For the Heavyweight Bout, Americans Josh Hokit weighed 231 pounds and Derrick Lewis weighed 256 pounds.
In the Lightweight Bout, Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy weighed in at 155, with his opponent, American Michael Chandler, outweighing him by one pound.
In the Middleweight Bout, Americans Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus both weighed 186 pounds.
Finally, for the Featherweight Bout, American Steve Garcia weighed 146 pounds. Brazilian Diego Lopes, his opponent, also weighed 146 pounds, though he weighed in a second time to serve as a backup for the lightweight championship main event.
In the afternoon, the two-day UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest opened at The Ellipse. The UFC website defined it as an event with “immersive fan experiences, live shows featuring UFC athletes, celebrity appearances, and exclusive on-stage moments.”
The event is free, but ticketed. Those with tickets to the Fan Fest also have access to the ceremonial weigh-in.
Later in the evening, fans are also invited to a Monster Energy-sponsored concert featuring country singer Zac Brown.
Brown is scheduled to perform his own concert at the Ceremonial weigh-in at The Ellipse, the public park close to the White House. He will be singing the National Anthem tomorrow at the event alongside the Marine Corps band.
“This is patriotism, not politics for me,” said Brown, pushing back against the backlash over his decision to perform at Sunday’s event.
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